Signs of an even closer partnership between Iran and Russia in Syria

Tabnak - As the Syrian Crisis has entered a new phase after the recent US missile strike against a military airbase in the country, there are signs of an upcoming more cooperation between Iran and Russia on the Syrian issue. Russian Foreign Minister’s recent remarks could be regarded as a sign in this regard.

Iranian news outlet Press TV reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara are continuing cooperation on consolidating a nation-wide ceasefire in Syria, adding that the trio is working on joint mechanisms to punish those violating the truce.

Lavrov made the remarks at a news conference following a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kazakh capital, Astana, on Friday.

Following the meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a press communiqué that the experts had discussed draft documents including those pertaining to the ceasefire regime and its implementation as well as those regarding the exchange of detainees and abductees.

"A delegation of experts from the UN joined the trilateral meetings as observers, bringing in invaluable expertise and technical assistance,” it read, adding that all participants in the Tehran meeting had agreed to hold the next expert-level meeting on May 2, one day before the Astana talks.

In his remarks in Astana, Lavrov also said that Russia, Turkey and Iran are developing new measures aimed at punishing violators of the ceasefire agreement in Syria. "Together with Turkey and Iran, we are developing joint mechanisms, which will not only register the violations of ceasefire agreements, but will also be able to respond to these violations, exert pressure on the violators.”

The Astana process is used to strengthen the ceasefire regime and define its criteria, which should be met by everyone who does not want to be associated with terrorists, Lavrov stressed.

It should be mentioned that the new phase of trilateral cooperation regarding Syria comes while after the recent US strike to Syria Russia had denounced the attack on Syria and warned further such action would derail global security.

"We have reiterated our position and were united in stating that the attack was an act of aggression, which blatantly violated the principles of international law and the UN Charter," Lavrov said at a meeting with his Iranian and Syrian counterparts a week after the US attack.

"We call on the US and its allies to respect Syria's sovereignty and refrain from actions similar to what happened on April 7, and which have serious ramifications not only for regional, but also global security… We will not allow the peace process to be disrupted," Lavrov said.

Lavrov’s previous remarks and his recent insistence on strengthening the trilateral mechanism for Syria shows that Moscow is not willing to give the ground to the Americans and wants to keep its control over the situation by managing and preserving the international mechanism for Syria. At the same time, it seems that such an approach would actually decrease the chances of any serious cooperation between Russia and the US in the war-torn country.